1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a target or object detection process.
2. Background Information
It is often desired to find a target or object against various surrounding backgrounds in very large sampling areas. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,189, “Method, Apparatus, and System for Verification of Patterns”, discloses the use of morphological operators to perform template matching and pattern verification. U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,910, “Image Processing for Reading Dark and Light Characters from Light and Dark Backgrounds Respectively”, discloses reading a dark-colored character on a light-colored background. U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,264, “Method of Acquiring a Moving Target” discloses a method for acquiring a moving target using the photo-cathode of a scanning tube and looking for sharply defined contrast edges. The disclosures of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Known systems involve searching for a target having predetermined patterns and characteristics, and involve knowing the specific shapes being searched for ahead of time. Searching an area for unknown objects of unspecified shape has been considered computationally intensive, and associated with high false alarm rates that adversely impact a specific search mission.